Taking the oath for a second time

Historian says this year's will lack excitement of Obama's first ceremony

January 12, 2013|By Bridget Doyle, Chicago Tribune reporter

President Barack Obama's first inauguration, in 2009, was a historic moment — the largest attendance at any presidential inauguration ceremony and most-attended event in the history of Washington, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

But as he becomes the 17th president to be sworn in for a second term, will Obama's second inaugural ceremony have similar historical overtones?

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the only president elected to a fourth term, had "no fanfare or formal celebration" after his fourth inauguration ceremonies, according to the committee. Whether that's due to World War II or because Roosevelt was past the novelty of beginning a new term is open for discussion.

Then again, the inauguration of an incumbent president changes things entirely, removing the significance of changing from one political leader to the next, said Thomas A. Schwartz, professor of history and political science at Vanderbilt University.

"The whole concept of inauguration is a peaceful transfer of power," Schwartz said. "They're a crucial aspect of a democratic state."

He said two historically significant inauguration ceremonies stand out in American history — Abraham Lincoln's first term in 1861, because the Southern states had just seceded from the North, and Roosevelt's first term in 1933 because of "the tremendous fear and panic created by the Great Depression," he said.

Obama's 2009 inauguration was "a moment of great popular significance," Schwartz said, but it's too soon to know its long-term impact.

"It was a powerful and important moment as he was the first African-American to take office, but it's hard to assess how history would think about that inauguration," Schwartz said. "He's not Superman. Our country still has a lot of the same issues as it did four years ago."

Schwartz said he doesn't think Obama's second inauguration will have the same pageantry as the first.

"We may have gotten accustomed to something we never thought we'd see in our lifetime," He said. "It won't have the same degree of excitement the second time around."

However Obama's second ceremony unfolds, there's no doubt that presidential inaugurations have evolved since the first was held in 1789. Here's a look at some facts from inauguration history: